The Wilson gets a run of hatchery summer steelhead. There are fish throughout the fishery (up to South Fork). For summer steelhead, fish early morning and cover lots of water including deep holes, pocket water, and drifts with some chop to them. Light line, subtle terminal presentations like beads, jigs, or small natural baits and hardware like spinners and spoons should all produce fish. There are no spring Chinook releases on the Wilson.

Trout season opened on the Wilson on May 22nd. The Wilson tends to be a little slower for coastal cutthroat trout than some of the neighboring basins, but there are resident trout throughout the fishery and lots of public access off of Hwy 6. Sea-run cutthroat should be showing up in the river.